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Thursday, March 31, 2016

Music Therapy Spring Playlist

Music has always played a major part in my life. Ever since those early days of piano lessons with Mrs. Uri or playing trumpet in classical and jazz bands. I always remember the holidays or special occasions when my mom, Andrena, would regale us with wonderful pieces of music such as Malaguena or her own special version of Silver Bells. I have had the pleasure of singing in small and large choral groups from All-state to my own singing quartet group, Free and Easy, as well as, being a charter member of the infamous gospel choir, The Voices of Unity. Music continues to give me life changing moments and memories and I am forever grateful for this art and therapy.

So on my walk through Central Park today, I thought it would be a wonderful gift to share the songs of spring that make up my consciousness.

These melodies cross several eras, yet they ring true for me as the seasonal mind set and the amazing way spring can be expressed in song. I call this list:

Here are helpful meditations to relieve stress and be in a state of peace.

Diane

Your Issue:"I'm going through a very emotionally taxing time."Your Meditation: Loving-kindness meditation. Sit quietly, breathe normally, and gather your attention around the repetition of the phrase "May I be happy, may I be peaceful." Whenever your attention wanders, gently let those thoughts go, and come back to the phrase. At the end, after repeating that phrase for yourself, offer it up to include all beings everywhere, saying, "May all things be happy, may all things be peaceful."

Your Issue:"I feel stressed from the minute I get to the office until the minute I leave."Your Meditation: A traditional Tibetan technique called sky-gazing meditation. Look out the window, relax your whole body, and let your gaze expand into the spaciousness of the sky. Repeat theahhhsound silently—it's the most open sound you can make, and it amplifies the feeling. Let your attention go, and sit for a few minutes. If you're not near a window (or worry people will think you're daydreaming), sub your computer screen for the sky and rest your attention on it.

Your Issue:"Help! I can't focus."Your Meditation: Sit in a comfortable place, breathe naturally, and settle your attention on your breath. With each inhale and exhale, mentally repeat the words "in" and "out." If your mind wanders, don't worry. Just let go, without judgment of whatever is taking you away from the breath, and bring your attention back to it.

Your Issue:"I feel adrift. I don't know what I want out of life right now."Your Meditation: Sit in a comfortable position, in bed or in your favoritechair. Settle your breath, close your eyes, and, as you breathe, mentally repeat the words "I am." Whenever your attention drifts away from the words to other thoughts (which is natural), gently restate the words "I am" again. After 5 minutes, stop repeating, and start asking yourself "What do I want?" Don't feel like you have to answer it—just ask it. Repeat the question 2 to 4 times—let your mind settle down and see what bubbles up. Sometimes we're so distracted by stress that we never take time to settle down and listen to what our body, mind, and soul are telling us.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Intuition has been defined as knowing without knowing how we know; a kind of instinctive knowing without benefit of actual evidence or factual information.

Due to Western culture's emphasis on the left brain with its reliance on logic and fact, we are culturally conditioned not to trust our intuitive knowledge. Studies have shown, however, that scientists, medical personnel and successful business executives, among others, often rely heavily on intuition for problem solving and decision making. Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine, observed, "The intuitive mind tells the thinking mind where to look next."

Where does intuition come from? How can we improve our ability to connect with our intuitive mind? What are the many ways in which can draw on our intuition to benefit our lives?

Please join us as we discuss the many sources and applications of this vital gift.

Pour into a dish and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until gelatin is firm and you can cut it into small portions with a knife.

Store in an airtight container. Will keep up to 7 days in the refrigerator.

NOTES

The coconut oil is optional in this recipe. It is used to enhance the absorption of the turmeric powder but may create a thin white layer on the surface of the gummies. Skip the coconut oil if you prefer your gummies as shown in the picture!

Colorectal cancer, cancer of the colon or rectum, is a disease that affects both men and women and is preventable nearly 90 percent of the time. Starting at age 50, men at women at average risk for the disease should get screened. Those with increased risk, like African- Americans who typically develop colorectal cancer at younger ages, should be screened even earlier.

Prevention techniques include regular screenings, a healthy diet and regular exercise. If detected, colorectal cancer requires surgery in nearly all cases for complete cure, sometimes in conjunction with radiation and chemotherapy. Between 80 and 90 percent of patients are restored to normal health if the cancer is detected and treated in the earliest stages. However, the cure rate drops to 50 percent or less when diagnosed in the later stages.

Fight Free Radicals

Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms. that have at least one unpaired electron, which makes them highly reactive. Free radicals promote beneficial oxidation that produces energy and kills bacterial invaders. However, in excess, they produce harmful oxidation or ?oxidative stress? that can damage cell membranes and cell contents. [2]. These free radicals cause inflammation.

In human beings, free radicals are the natural by-products of many processes within and among cells. Free radicals are created by exposure to various environmental factors, cigarette and tobacco smoke, air pollution, alcohol, drugs, radiation from televisions and computers, chemicals and a busy, stressful life.

These factors stimulate molecules in the body called transcription factors. The transcription factor is any protein required to initiate or regulate transcription; including both gene regulatory proteins as well as the general transcription factors. These chemical messengers signal DNA to start producing protein, which gives direction to the cells in our body. Transcription factors in the body are harmless, until they are activated by free radicals. Free radicals cause the transcription molecules to migrate to the center of the nucleus. Several transcription factors become pro-inflammatory due to free radicals and therefore accelerate the aging process.

NF-kB transcription factor complex is one of the cellular sensors, which responds to oxidative stress and regulates gene expression. NF-kB can increase the activity of genes responsible for inflammation. DNA binding activities of two other transcription factors, AP-1 and Sp-1 are seen as inflammatory agents when activated by free radicals. [3].

Other inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, homocysteine, and fibrinogen show that these blood indicators of inflammation are strong predictive factors for determining who will suffer a heart attack. [4,5]. Seemingly unrelated diseases have a common link. People who have multiple degenerative disorders often exhibit excess levels of inflammatory markers in their blood. A growing consensus among scientists is that common disorders such as atherosclerosis, colon cancer, and Alzheimer's disease are all caused in part by a chronic inflammatory syndrome.

Antioxidants Are Necessary

More and more evidence is accumulating that indicates antioxidants improve long-term health by deferring or mitigating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Exercise-related research indicates that antioxidants such as vitamin E and selenium limit exercise-induced muscle damage; this, in turn, is believed to improve exercise recovery and possibly improve muscle growth potential. Of course, as vitamins C and E and selenium are among the most effective antioxidants, they and others are part of most multivitamin/mineral packs. However, here are some additional antioxidants you may want to consider taking, with the baseline supplementary daily intake.

Research suggests that combining antioxidants is more effective than consuming high doses of just one or two antioxidants. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in a wide variety of antioxidants; the essential antioxidants may be better preserved in these foods. Herbal supplements like milk thistle, rosemary, ginkgo biloba, bilberry, butcher's broom and horse chestnut have high levels of potent antioxidants, although their effects on exercise have not yet been studied in humans.

Black and Green Tea

For years, studies have indicated that the antioxidants in green tea offer protection against diseases, including cancer, and even fight dental cavities. One of the most beneficial of these antioxidants is called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). According to the University of California Wellness Letter, Mar 2002, regular black tea is turning out to be just as healthful as green tea. The evidence for tea's health effects comes mainly from lab studies, though some human studies point to possible benefits in preventing heart disease and cancer. EGCG, inhibited an enzyme that cancer cells need in order to grow. The cancer cells that couldn't grow big enough to divide self-destructed. It would take about 4-10 cups of green tea a day to get the blood levels of EGCG that inhibited cancer in the study. Black tea also contains EGCG, but at lower concentrations.

Sugar and Inflammation

One of the reasons inflammation occurs is from a rapid rise in blood sugar, which causes biochemical changes in the cell. Staying away from sugar and high-glycemic (simple) carbohydrates, which the body rapidly converts to sugar, is one of the best ways to decrease inflammation. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a key factor of inflammation. In a major study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, people with elevated CRP levels were four and one-half times more likely to have a heart attack. Not only is elevated CRP more accurate than cholesterol in predicting heart attack risk, but high CRP levels have turned up in people with diabetes and pre-diabetes and in people who are overweight. [7, 8, 9, 10]

When blood sugar goes up rapidly, sugar can attach itself to collagen in a process called "glycosylation," or the Browning Reaction, increasing inflexible and inflammation. CRP is not found in foods. However, its levels in the body are strongly influenced by diet.

A recent study by Simin Liu, M.D., Ph.D., of the Harvard Medical School found that women who ate large amounts of high-glycemic (or diabetes promoting) carbohydrates, including potatoes, breakfast cereals, white bread, muffins, and white rice, had very high CRP levels. Women who ate a lot of these foods and were also overweight had the highest and most dangerous CRP levels. [11].

The body makes CRP from interleukin-6 (IL-6), a powerful inflammatory chemical. IL-6 is a key cell communication molecule, and it tells the body's immune system to go into asperity, releasing CRP and many other inflammation-causing substances. Being overwieght increases inflammation because adipose cells, particularly those around the midsection, make large amounts of IL-6 and CRP. As blood sugar levels increase, so do IL-6 and CRP. Both overweight and high blood sugar levels increase the risk of heart disease, very likely because of the undercurrent of inflammation. [10].

The best way to deal with cravings is to very carefully control blood sugar and insulin by staying away from the simple carbohydrates and eating more protein. In a few days, blood sugar will stabilize and cravings will go away. Good (complexed) carbohydrates, which are low on the glycemic index include: apples, asparagus, beans, broccoli, blackberries, blueberries, cabbage, cantaloupe, citrus fruits, green beans, honeydew melon, kiwi, leafy greens, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, spinach, strawberries.

Dietary fats also influence inflammation. Most omega-6 fats, found in margarine and corn and safflower oils, are the basic building blocks of arachidonic acid and prostaglandin E2, two of several key inflammation-causing substances in the body. In contrast, omega-3 fats, found in fish, fish oils, and vegetables, have an inflammation-suppressing effect. [11]

Balance the Body's pH

It is important to keep the body as pH balanced as possible. Most people's diets tend to be more on the acidic side. Therefore, eating more alkaline forming foods (plant based) helps to maintain proper pH balance. Eat foods such as non citrus fruits and plenty of vegetables, some dairy such as cottage cheese and yogurt, organic skinless chicken, turkey or grass feed, lean beef and fish. Buy dried beans such as garbanzo beans and black beans, consider whole grains such as brown rice and oats, as well as a handful of healthy fats in nuts and seeds.